“You need to turn in your paperwork.” – Roz, from Monster’s Inc.
Hello parents and campers! It is your friendly Camp Alleghany office troll here, to talk to you about all those forms we keep asking you all to fill out. As a parent of a former camper, I understand how it can feel annoying to have ONE MORE THING that needs to be done added to a long list of to-dos that take place in the Spring. Before I started working with Louise and Elizabeth in the office, I didn’t truly understand the importance of getting all the various forms into the office on time. Now that I do, I thought I would share a few of these reasons with you all, in the hopes it will inspire you to get your forms in prior to our May 1st deadline.
We want to know ALL about your child
The Medical Forms inform our Infirmary of what types of medical needs your child has (or doesn’t have), and how best to treat them, either preventatively or should something happen while at camp.
The Camper Information Form, along with the initial Application, helps us know a little more about your child, who is authorized to pick them up/drop them off, and other general information. (If you are a term camper, it also is where you sign up for a time to bring your child on Opening Day!)
The Camper Information Form is also used to provide information to assist in assigning your child to the right tent, with the right mix of fellow campers.
Our Head Counselors use the information on this form to determine where your child should be placed. They put a lot of time and thought into this decision.
In order to have tenting assignments input into our system prior to Opening Day, we need to have this information well in advance.
Both the Medical and Camper information forms also provide insight for our Wellness Counselors, should your child need their services at some point during their time at camp. They can be aware of any concerns you might express and preemptively come up with a plan to support your child.
It’s a numbers game
Special Diets Forms help us to let the kitchen know what foods need to be prepared for which campers and ensure we don’t have any food allergy mishaps while your child is eating in our dining hall. Our Special Diets coordinator, Sarah, hand makes and laminates allergy cards for each child, according to their Form. If we don’t have a form on file, she can’t make these cards, and your child won’t have what she needs to be able to request the appropriate substitution.
To ensure that we order the correct amount of food, especially for our children with Special Diets, we need to know whether or not your child has any allergies/food restrictions. If we don’t have a form on file for your child, we don’t know who needs what, and might not give the kitchen an accurate estimate of the amount of food to order, resulting in hungry children.
The American Camping Association factor
In order to maintain our accreditation, there are particular forms (like our Health Form) that are required for each camper so that we stay in compliance with the ACA standards.
This ensures Alleghany has accreditation bragging rights – important standards that drive the well-being of our camp and its participants.
The Sooner, The Better
Camp of course is a year-round business, and from the day we close Family Camp, we are already making plans for the next summer. The more we can do before we set foot in camp, the more time we have to support our staff and campers once they arrive as well.
There you have it, in a nutshell. So please, do both the Alleghany staff, and your child a favor, and get those forms in before May 1st. Your office troll thanks you in advance! If you have any questions, please reach out to us– we are here to help!
-Mary-Curtis Powell, Office Manager
